Growing up, you counted the days until you turned 16 and could make your parents take you to get a permit.

A driver's license meant freedom, a chance to take friends wherever you wanted to go as you blasted your favorite hits on the radio.

And now, as a parent, you find your teenagers share your love for those songs, but they want you to drive them to the 10 p.m. showing of the latest "Twilight" movie.

It's a stunning generational change. Today's teens are not that eager to get behind the wheel. Among their friends, it's often the one with the license who is unusual.

Theories abound: This generation is in constant contact via texting, has fewer job options to cover the cost of gas and has been taught to be afraid of the dangers of driving. Parents are either too protective, not letting their children grow up, or are too busy to provide the extra time the law now requires accompanying their kids on their practice rides.

"I've never felt the need to have it because I have friends who have their licenses, and I don't have the money for a car, insurance and gas," Serba said.

Graham said he also is a bit scared of driving, which he partly blames on being hit by a car three years ago.

"For me, it seems like there is so much in the car," he said. "You have to control so much at one time."

For Serba's mother, Kelli, that reluctance is stunning compared to her own youth.

"We wanted our licenses right away so at 16 we had our permits," she said.

She is torn between pushing her son to drive and not wanting to rush him into something he is reluctant to do.

Martha Brown of Schenectady got her permit at 16, but it expired. Now she's 22, and she still isn't looking to drive.

"It just never really interested me, and I didn't think it was necessary because everybody else drove," she said. "I don't mind riding a bike or just walking to go places."

Brown is finalizing her studies as an anthropology major at the State University at Plattsburgh, and she hopes to live in a big city abroad or in the United States where public transportation makes it easy to get around.

"When I was younger, I didn't think it was necessary," she said of driving. "Now it would be more of a nervousness because I haven't done it."

The Michigan researchers came up with a different theory of why so many teens and young adults delay driving: They are so accustomed to texting or emailing their friends, they no longer feel the need to drive to see them.

"It's partly due to the increased use of the Internet," said Michael Sivak, a research professor at the institute and co-author of the study. A follow-up looked at statistics in 15 countries and found a correlation between access to technology and the delay in getting licenses.

"When we looked at the 15 different countries, those who had the highest Internet usage had the lower proportion of younger drivers," he said. "That's our hypothesis: Because of all the ease of connecting instantly, there is less of a need to plan ahead to see a friend."

"Adolescence is really extending. We look at 16-year-olds as being much younger than we did years ago," Crowley said. "Kids seem to us less mature. As parents, we're not encouraging them to go out to drive. Parents are reluctant to give up that supervision. We as a society no longer view 16- and 17-year-olds as emerging adults. We view them as still being children."

Economic factors also play a part. Where teens once would get entry level jobs as places like McDonald's, she said, those jobs are now often being taken by older adults.

Sivak, co-author of the Michigan study, agreed that the tough economy makes it harder for young people to afford cars.

"Young people have less discretionary income than middle-aged people," Sivak said.

It's possible more stringent regulations for young drivers have had an impact, too. It's not so easy to grab a group of your friends and drive to the mall any more, and it takes more driving time to move to a full license.

In New York, all drivers under age 18 must now complete 50 hours of supervised driving rather than 20. Fifteen of those hours must be after sunset. Teens must wait at least six months after getting their permit before they can get a junior license. The state DMV also now allows only one nonfamily member to be a passenger in a car with a driver with a junior license, and a supervising driver must still accompany a junior driver between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m.

Sivak said he does not believe those are factors in the delay since even young adults in their 20s also are showing a drop in getting their licenses.

Students are inundated with messages about the dangers of driving. Before every prom, schools bring in trashed cars and family members of accident victims to stress the dangers of drunken driving or texting behind the wheel. Martha Brown says she doesn't think that is why driving makes her nervous, but she is not sure.

Sivak doubts the fear factor is much of an influence. The drop-off in people getting their licenses extends well past the teenage years, long after those school messages have faded, he said. Even among 39-year-olds, the percentage of people with licenses has dropped while it has grown among older drivers.

Albert Bell, owner of Bell's Auto Driving School in Clifton Park, runs the driver education courses for many area high schools. Those classes still fill up with 16-year-olds and usually have a waiting list, he said. But he sees one problem with the added hours now required for licenses: Students don't get the driving time needed with parents.

"It's the age-old thing; the parents work and they don't have time," he said. "It's like taking piano lessons and not having a piano at home to practice."

For their parts, Serba and Graham said they know they will have to learn to drive soon. Serba lost his job and is looking for a new one, while Graham just started working at a Mobil station. Graham said he can only rely on friends for rides for so long.

"After a while they are going to start getting annoyed with that," he said.